MAU Moʻolelo Blog

Our moʻolelo are living, growing, ever-changing chronicles of our experiences in these homelands of ours. Please share your moʻolelo, mele, and artwork with us, and we will feature them here on our MAU Moʻolelo Blog!

﻿There is nothing of greater value than Kanaka living independencethrough aloha for their ʻāina.

ʻO ka Lā Kūʻoʻkoʻa kēia ma Hawaiʻi nei! A eia kekahi mau wahi manaʻo no ka noho kūʻokoʻa ʻana o kānaka no ke aloha i ko kākou ʻāina. Today is Lā Kūʻokoʻa, Independence Day, here in Hawaiʻi! And here are some thoughts to be shared and discussed about living independence through the aloha we have for our ʻāina.

Oh nation of aloha ʻāina, from Hawaiʻinuikuauli to the taproot of Lehua, great aloha to you all. Here is a native of the ʻāina famous for the steep trails listening to the voice of the seas at Koholālele reverberating from one corner to the other corner of the ʻāina of the long corner, from the piko o Wākea to the base of the cliffs where the koaʻe birds fly. The sun has arisen, it is light, and the unmistakable, joyous sound of the voice of the eight seas is heard, and it remains steadfast in aloha for our beloved homelands. Those of Hawaiʻinuiākea rose up in the procreative night and emerged into the light. We are a nation of aloha ʻāina from the time of old until this new era moving forth because of the pathways of tradition that are fastened to our ʻāina, and these traditions are firmly sworn into the substantive words of a true aloha ʻāina of Hawaiʻi, Joseph Nāwahī, “There is nothing of greater value than Kanaka living independence through aloha for their ʻāina.” (Ke Aloha Aina, July 4, 1896)

This way of living for aloha ʻāina is exemplified in the moʻolelo of ʻUmi-a-Līloa, the famous chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. When the lands of Hawaiʻi came under the control of ʻUmi’s older brother, Hakau, and Hakau continuously mistreated his younger brother with contempt, ʻUmi returned from Waipiʻo to the homelands of his mother, and there he lived independently for the aloha of his ʻāina. While ʻUmi lived in destitution during that time, he firmly grasped and held tightly to the aloha he had for the ʻāina, and with his own hands took on the work of farming and fishing. That is how the ʻāina was secured by ʻUmi, and the kingdom became unified by this farmer chief, who was also called a stalwart fisherman. The ʻāina creates the foundation upon which the people are born, and the people create the foundation upon which the chief is born. Aloha ʻāina is the foundation upon which a house of government can be properly built. And the house of the chief who is not firm in aloha for their ʻāina will be easily destroyed.

According to the people of old, there was no other chief who could compare to the kingdom established by ʻUmi, because of his eternal steadfastness in aloha for the ʻāina and his care for the “big person” and the “small person.” When he became the ruler of the island of Hawaiʻi, he established in place all of the brilliant, intelligent people of the ʻāina in each and every facet of society, from those who ruled the districts to those who tended to the small, cultivated patches. It is when the people were established generationally in place that the kingdom was secured in unity, and the pono of the ʻāina was solidified for the many descendants and offspring, until the most distant progeny of aloha ʻāina. This moʻolelo for ʻUmi is a very valuable one, oh nation of aloha ʻāina, so that we, and our descendants, may come to know the true value of aloha ʻāina. Therefore, oh native nation, let us continue along the pathway and perpetuate the traditions of true aloha ʻāina, as did the famous chief ʻUmi-a-līloa. Let us return of our motherlands and live independently for the aloha of our ʻāina. That is how we shall again build an independent house of government that is pono for us and for our ʻāina. There is nothing of greater value.﻿

By Noʻeau PeraltoPaʻauilo, Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi​November 28, 2015

Eia mai kekahi mau mana o ka moʻolelo no ʻUmi (Here are some other versions of the moʻolelo for ʻUmi):

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Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili is a community-based nonprofit organization. Our mission is to re-establish the systems that sustain our community through educational initiatives and land-based practices that cultivate abundance, regenerate responsibilities, and promote collective health and well-being.